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H.S. Baseball: Leach, Backman lead Lions past Don Bosco

Posted: May. 21, 2014 9:23 pm Updated: May. 25, 2014 10:11 pm

RAMSEY — Zach Leach broke a tie with a sacrifice fly in the third inning and Trevor Backman gave up one run in 6 1/3 innings to help Pope John’s baseball team beat Don Bosco Prep, 3-1, in an independent clash on Wednesday at Don Bosco Prep.

The win puts the Lions at 16-10 on the year and should give them confidence heading into today’s Non-Public, North A first-round clash with Paramus Catholic after beating one of the more established programs in the state in Don Bosco (14-8).

With the game tied, 1-1, Lions second baseman Axel D’Addario drew a walk, advanced to second on an Ethan Collins single and stole third base. From there, Leach hit a ball deep enough into the outfield to allow D’Addario to tag up, score and give the Lions a 2-1 lead.

From there, the Lions added another insurance run in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk by Collins to give a good enough lead for Backman, who scattered nine hits and struck out three before reliever Cyrus Ahmadi came in to get the final two outs for the save.

Mike Young and Kyle Malejko led the Lions at the plate, each going 2-for-3. Young’s two hits included a double in the first inning, where he eventual scored on a single by D’Addario.

PJ 101 100 0 — 3 7 0

DB 010 000 0 — 1 9 0

2B: PJ — Mike Young; DB — Brian Cotter

W: Trevor Backman (1-0); L: Cyrus Shirazi; Sv: Cyrus Ahmadi

Team records: Pope John 16-10, Don Bosco Prep 14-8

Sussex Tech 13, Somerset Tech 3, F/6

BRIDGEWATER — Tommy Slate went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, triple and three RBI to lead the Mustangs past Somerset Tech in six innings Tuesday on the road.

Slate drove in two runs in the first inning on a single to help give Sussex Tech (5-20) a 3-0 lead. Slate also knocked in a run on his triple in the fourth to make it a 7-2 lead for Sussex Tech.

Justin Brauchle, Austen Campbell, Matt Beck and Corey Small each had two hits in the win. Beck got the win on the mound for the Mustangs after going all six innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out five.